


The Advanced Physics Story

by grapalicious



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Gen, Kid!Fic, little Kirk, little Spock - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-09-17
Updated: 2013-09-17
Packaged: 2017-12-26 20:43:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,293
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/970095
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/grapalicious/pseuds/grapalicious
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A young Spock is forced to spend some time in Riverside, Iowa, where he contemplates his fate, the future, and friendship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Advanced Physics Story

**Author's Note:**

> Transferred from my fanfiction account [NineKindsofCrazy](http://www.fanfiction.net/u/2323591/NineKindsofCrazy)
> 
> I know some people prefer to read things on ao3 vs. ff.net so I'm posting some of my previously written stories on here.
> 
> Uh, I don't know what to say about this story right here except that it stemmed from my listening to 'The Pina Colada Song' (which doesn't really become noticeable until near the end of the story). Yeah, that's right. My brain somehow warped a one-hit wonder about two people who were gonna cheat on each other into a Star Trek story starring a little Spock in Iowa. I really don't know how the hell that happened.

Earth was much different from Vulcan, Spock reflected looking up at the sky.

Since his father's stationing on this planet 3.32 weeks ago, Spock had been noting the similarities and differences between Earth and his home planet.

The first difference Spock noticed upon arriving on Earth was its color. It was so _blue_. Which was logical, Spock thought, since oceans covered most of the planet. He noticed it when they had first approached Earth in their shuttle. That Earth was mostly cerulean with smears of green and white painted over it.

But the sky was so blue too.

His father, the Vulcan ambassador to Earth, was requested to help out with Starfleet's new starship computer programming. His father had agreed, stating it was logical to lend assistance given that he had attended the Vulcan Science Academy and could therefore provide useful knowledge to Starfleet's endeavors.

So Spock and his parents were currently residing in the town that harbored Starfleet's shipyard. Riverside, Iowa.

And the sky in Iowa- it was blue, too. It stretched from one end of the horizon to the other in an expanse of sapphire.

During the day, the sun beat down from the sky. This was one of the things on Earth that reminded Spock of Vulcan.

On Vulcan, the red hot sun would bear down on the planet, covering the surface in heated light.

Which in turn, reminded Spock of Earth and Vulcan's differences.

Vulcan was hot. Logical, thought Spock, as Vulcan was primarily a desert planet. Earth was not. Earth was cool and breezy, even under the yellow sun during the day.

Earth was blue.

Vulcan was the opposite. It was red- red sands, red skies. The red glint of the sun reflecting off the steel buildings. The reddish clouds that floated through the night sky.

But Vulcan had no moon. That was another difference between his home planet and Earth, Spock thought, still looking at the sky.

Earth's moon was big and bright, hanging in the sky at night, though sometimes Spock could see it during the day. In Earth's blue sky.

But Spock's favorite thing about Earth- the thing that reminded him most of his home, the thing that made it easier to be on this alien planet- was the stars.

The stars. The same stars that Spock would see in the sky on Vulcan and the same stars that Spock was staring at now. The stars littered Iowa's black night sky and twinkled down on this blue planet and Spock knew that a little over sixteen light years away they were shining down on a different planet- a red planet.

Maybe, Spock would think every time he stared at the stars, Earth and Vulcan weren't that different after all.

\----------

"I do not see the logic in what you are proposing."

"Logic? Not everything has to be about logic, you know."

Spock was sitting in his room in the apartment his family was occupying during their stay on Earth. He was supposed to be practicing concentrating techniques by blocking out surrounding distractions and focusing internally on the mind. He was failing. His sensitive Vulcan ears picked up on the conversation his parents were having in the other room and Spock found his attention being pulled to it.

"But what is the purpose of performing a task if there is no logic involved?"

"But there is logic in it! You're just refusing to see it!"

"There is nothing that Spock would gain from attending a human school while he is here. He has been educated through the standard Vulcan disciplines. He will be well ahead of the other children. There will be nothing he can benefit from. Therefore, it is logical that Spock forgoes formal education on Earth to resume his studies when we travel back to Vulcan."

There was a pause in the conversation. For a moment, Spock considered working on his concentrating techniques again, but then he heard his mother's quiet voice.

"Sarek, I think sometimes you forget what your son is. You see him as a Vulcan. But only as a Vulcan."

"I-"

"Wait, let me finish. He's only nine years old. And he's never had the opportunity to interact with other kids the way human children do. Spock would learn something from a human school, even if it wasn't science or math. He would learn to embrace the other half of himself. Because he's human, too. Like me."

Spock listened for a long time after that, but he never heard his father respond.

A week later he found himself enrolled in a public school- Riverside Elementary.

\----------

There was another similarity, Spock added to his list, between Earth and Vulcan.

Bullies.

It was his first day of class and Spock had heard twelve different comments about his ears by lunch time. Spock took it in stride and viewed it as a positive sign because no one had tried to physically provoke him. Yet.

After lunch, the humans participated in an activity called recess. It was described to Spock as a recreational time for kids to play with each other outside while exercising and using some of their pent up energy. Spock found the whole idea absurd and completely illogical, but his teacher would not let him go back inside to work on calculating quadratic equations for intellectual exercise.

Spock wandered over to sit under a tree in an attempt to seclude himself from the other kids so that he might work on mathematical problems in his head.

Unfortunately, his plan did not succeed.

"Hey, Vulcan."

Spock looked up. A group of five male students were standing above him with roguish grins on their faces.

"You know, with those pointy ears you look kind of like a fairy," one of them said. Spock took in the boy- his dark hair, dark skin, dark eyes.

"Illogical," said Spock. "If I were a fairy, I believe that I would also have a pair of wings in addition to a set of pointed ears."

The dark boy did not seem happy with Spock's statement and kicked dirt onto Spock's leg while the other four boys snickered. Spock calmly stood up and brushed the dirt of his pants.

That action just made the boy even angrier.

"Let's see how your logic deals with this." And the dark skinned boy shoved Spock back into the tree. The other boys laughed.

"Yeah, what's your logical response to this?" This came from a redheaded boy that was standing off to Spock's right.

Spock would have liked to show them what the logical response was. Logically, Spock would reach out and give each one of them a nerve pinch to the neck. But, somehow, Spock knew that if he proceeded with those actions it would eventually lead to his mother's disappointment. So he stood there silently.

"You don't have one, do you, you vampire?" Another one of the boys asked this and the rest roared with laughter.

The dark boy clenched his fist and pulled back his arm preparing to deliver a punch. Spock stood there stoically and prepared to receive it.

But a voice rang out, "Vampires have pointed teeth, not pointed ears, idiot."

Spock as well as the other boys froze and turned their attention to the source of the interruption.

A blonde boy was approaching from Spock's left. The dark boy dropped his fist.

"Picking fights again, Johnson?" the blonde boy asked. "I'll make you a deal. Leave right now and maybe I won't report you. You know you'll be suspended if you get one more misbehavior mark."

"And what if I don't leave, huh, Kirk?" Johnson was scowling. "What are you gonna do besides tattle on me to the teachers."

The blonde boy, Kirk, shrugged. "I'll hit you. And then we'll both get in trouble. But unlike, you, I won't end up in Saturday school for continued unruly conduct."

Johnson glared at Kirk for a moment longer before motioning his head to the other boys he was with. A minute passed as Kirk and Spock watched the boys' backs retreating to the other side of the playground.

Then Kirk turned to Spock. "It's Spock, right? You're that new Vulcan kid? My name's James Tiberius Kirk, but most people just call me Jim." He cocked his head side. "Sorry about those guys. They're complete jerks. But Johnson doesn't really mess with me anymore ever since I almost broke his nose last year, so you're welcome."

Spock stared at Kirk in confusion. When he spoke, his voice was void of any emotion. "It is illogical that you apologized for their actions when you are not responsible for them. And it is illogical for you to say 'you're welcome' when I have thanked you for nothing. Furthermore, I would not have been affected greatly had he punched me because Vulcans possess a superior physiological structure to humans. I did not require your assistance."

Kirk's face had hardened during the course of Spock's speech. As Spock finished speaking, Kirk looked pointedly at his ears before frowning at his face.

"You look like an elf," was all Kirk said and he, too, walked away towards the other side of the playground, leaving Spock all alone.

\----------

His father was there when Spock arrived home in the afternoon.

"What is your opinion of the human school, Spock?"

"It is not as preferable as the Vulcan way of education," Spock admitted. Even though there had been bullies on Vulcan, at least Spock had been able to immerse himself in his studies. He found it harder to do the same on Earth where he had already mastered many of the subjects his class was currently covering.

"That is to be expected," his father said. "In this human school your mind will not have the same opportunity to expand with knowledge. However, your mother feels that it will present an opportunity for you to… embrace your human side." He said this last part with something close to distaste. Then he continued, "We will be back on Vulcan soon enough, my son. And then you will be able to continue your studies in preparation to enter the Vulcan Science Academy."

Spock blinked. "Science Academy?" he asked quietly.

"Certainly. You will attend the Academy as I did. And as my father did."

"But what if I do not wish to enter the Vulcan Science Academy?" Spock asked, letting a flare of indignation creep into his eyes.

His father fixed him with a hard look. Finally he said, "Is this rebellion you are feeling Spock? It seems as though you are embracing your human half after all."

Spock did not say anything as his father turned and went to his computer terminal to work.

"Spock?" his mother asked later that evening when she came to their apartment. "How was school?"

Vulcans did not lie. "Fine," Spock lied. After all, he was not completely Vulcan.

\----------

There was a corn field 2.2 miles down the road from Spock's apartment. It belonged to an old man named O'Malley, but Spock was aware that many others spent their time among the tall rows of corn.

He had overheard a couple younger kids at his school talking about going to the field to play a game of hide and seek. An illogical sounding game, thought Spock, but he refrained from commenting. Instead, he made the decision to head to O'Malley's field himself.

It was Friday, the end of Spock's first week at his new school, and he did not want to go home. He didn't want to face his father and endless comments about the Vulcan Science Academy or his mother and her endless questions about Riverside Elementary.

So, Friday afternoon, Spock found himself wandering the rows of corn. After he accidentally ran into a couple amidst the corn taking part in a scandalous activity, Spock reached a part of the corn field where he could sit in isolation.

And when he got comfortable sitting in the dirt, he moved his gaze to the sky- his favorite part of Earth and of any other planet.

The sky, where Spock could let his mind wander past the clouds and past the stars. To the billions of planets and life forms waiting to be to be discovered. To the adventures that awaited.

His father would think that these thoughts were illogical. And maybe they were. But Spock realized, that for the first time, he did not care if his thoughts were not logical.

Maybe his father was right. Perhaps he _was_ embracing his human half.

\----------

On Monday, Spock was eating lunch in the corner of the cafeteria at a table by himself. He had long since forgone the notion of joining the other kids from his class during lunch because they wanted nothing to do with 'the pointy eared fairy'.

It didn't really bother Spock. Despite what his father might think, he was still more Vulcan than human. He was just as content to eat his fruit salad alone and work on some vector calculus problems on his PADD.

He was startled out of his computations by the sound of a lunch tray being set down on the table. Spock looked up to see James Tiberius Kirk sliding into the bench across from him.

For the first time, Spock noticed the color of his eyes. Blue. Like Earth, thought Spock.

"Hey," Kirk said, looking rather cheerful. "I've been wondering- about Vulcans- I mean, you're all into logic and stuff, right?"

Spock nodded his assent.

"Right," Kirk continued, also nodding his head. "Well, I was wondering, is it logical to have friends?" His face started to grow a little anxious. "Or- to want to have friends?"

That was not a question Spock had ever thought about himself so he took a few moments to carefully mull it over before answering. "I believe that one can rely on their own intellect and skills to master all that they must in life; therefore, friends are not needed. And it is illogical to have or want what is not needed."

Kirk's mouth had turned into a slight frown and he nodded again. Spock watched him lower his gaze to his tray, swallow, and let out a heavy breath of air. As he looked back up, Kirk's gaze caught sight of Spock's PADD sitting on the table.

"What are you doing on there?" Kirk asked and made a motion to grab it. Spock reached out and pulled it towards him before Kirk could touch it.

"It is nothing," Spock said in a clipped tone as Kirk withdrew his hand.

"It's something," Kirk replied in a huffy voice.

"It is nothing of interest to you," clarified Spock. "They are complicated equations that I do not believe you would have the motivation or ability to solve."

Kirk's faced looked closed off. He didn't say anything but continued to sit at Spock's table and eat quietly for the rest of lunch.

\----------

Kirk consistently sat across the table from Spock during lunch, but after that first day they never said anything to each other. Kirk would eat his lunch and Spock would eat his and work on his PADD. They never even looked up at each other.

It was the same thing on Friday. Spock sat down to eat his lunch and Kirk slid in across from him. No acknowledgment. No talking. No interaction of any kind.

And just like all the other days that Kirk had sat with Spock, when lunch was over, they both got up from the table silently and proceeded outside for recess.

Like the first day of school, Spock drifted over to the other side of the playground and sat under his tree in solitude. The only difference now was that Spock had started to take his PADD with him to continue his studies.

Spock was not sure exactly what Kirk did during recess for he was usually engrossed in his work and did not survey the playground.

However, today- Friday was different. Spock was reading over an article on astrophysics when a commotion about ten meters away made him look up.

Three kids that seemed as least three or four years younger than Spock were bending down, examining something on the ground and making squealing noises.

Curiosity overcame Spock and he set down his PADD while standing up himself. He walked over to kids and peered down at the ground where he saw a black and white insect that was nearly an inch in length.

"Fascinating," Spock said. The three kids that were bending down turned their faces up to him.

"Hey," one of them addressed Spock, "do you know what this thing is?"

"I believe it is a dasymutilla occidentalis," answered Spock. He received blank stares from the three kids.

A familiar voice joined the conversation. "Looks like a giant ant to me." Looking up, Spock saw that Kirk had joined the group huddling in the dirt.

Kirk bent down to examine the insect along with the other kids while Spock still remained standing.

"Although it is commonly called a Red Velvet Ant, this creature does not belong to the Formicidae family but to the Mutillidae," Spock corrected.

Kirk and the other kids stared at him, frowning.

"It is a type of wasp," simplified Spock. The younger three kids' eyes widened as they all looked back down at the bug.

"It looks soft," said Kirk. He reached out a finger and stroked it down its back. Suddenly, he withdrew his finger and exclaimed, "Ow! It stung me!"

The three younger kids yelped and scrambled away, running as fast as they could away from the insect.

"It must be a female," Spock said interestedly, finally bending down closer to get a better look at the bug. He glanced at Kirk who was gripping the stung hand tightly with his other as his eyes watered. "The females' stings are supposedly very painful." Spock paused thoughtfully. "I believe it is also sometimes known as a 'cow killer'."

Kirk's head jerked up to meet Spock's gaze. His eyes were wide and full of tears. "Oh, thanks!" he yelled. "You tell me that now!"

"I would suggest," Spock told him calmly, "that you seek out the school's healer as immediately as possible."

Kirk shakily got to his feet, tears now streaming down his face. He turned on his heel and ran at breakneck speed towards the school.

Spock, still squatting in the dirt, watched until Kirk disappeared into the building. Then went back to observing the insect, uttering a quiet, "Fascinating."

\----------

After the incident on the playground, Kirk sat less regularly at Spock's lunch table.

On the days that Kirk ate with him, it was the same as before. Neither one acknowledged or spoke to the other. On the days that Kirk didn't, Spock sat at the table by himself.

And Spock could find no logic or pattern to the frequency at which Kirk decided to sit across from him.

But aside from his unpredictable lunch company, the other aspects in Spock's life remained fairly consistent for a period of three weeks.

He would attend school, making little contact with other students, concentrating on his school work.

After school, most days, Spock would head to O'Malley's corn field and sit and stare at the sky. When he arrived home in the early evening, his father never questioned his whereabouts and his mother assumed that he was off with friends. Spock never bothered to correct her.

But one day, Spock came home from O'Malley's to find his father waiting for him.

"Spock," his father said shortly after Spock walked through the door. "I have some news that should be pleasing to you. I will be finished with my consultation two weeks from now, and then we will return to Vulcan."

Spock did not answer verbally, but he found himself sighing with something akin to relief.

\----------

It was Spock's favorite subject. Computer education.

This would be the class that Spock missed the most when he returned to Vulcan.

Every day, Spock's class was allotted an hour in the computer lab. The instructor would give them an assignment at the start of the hour and they were given the rest of the time to complete it.

Spock usually finished the assignment within the first twenty minutes. Any time left over, they were allowed to use at their discretion. Typically, Spock spent the rest of his hour typing computer programs.

However, the Monday of Spock's last week of school was different. As Spock started typing on his computer, something popped up on the screen.

Spock stared at it a moment before realizing what it was. It was a physics equation. More precisely, it was the Tricomi differential equation used to describe near-sonic flows of gas. Under the equation, there were two boxes- one labeled 'solve' and the other labeled 'close'.

Thinking for a moment, Spock pressed the 'solve' option. Spock calculated the solution and typed it into the computer, pressing 'submit' when he finished.

What popped up on the screen next really confused Spock. It was some sort of letter. It read:

'If you like advanced physics,

And computer science,

If you're into engineering,

If you've got half a brain,

If you like thinking of the stars

And all the mysteries they hold,

Then I'm the friend that you've been looking for,

So write back on this computer and encode it.'

'Fascinating,' Spock thought. His fingers hovered over the keyboard as he read the message again. Advanced physics, computer science, and engineering were all intriguing subjects and Spock found it even more intriguing that another student at his school was interested in them. He did not understand the comment about 'half a brain'; it was illogical to have only half of a brain.

But what really caught Spock's attention were the lines about the stars. Spock liked the stars- was fascinated by the stars.

For a moment, Spock's logic took hold of him. He should not respond to this message. He was leaving for Vulcan in a week and he did not need any human friends anyways. It was illogical.

Then Spock read over the message once more, about the stars, about the mysteries, and made his decision.

Spock typed back his message:

'Yes, I do enjoy advanced physics,

Computer science and engineering.

I have an entire brain and I do not think

One can function with only half of a brain.

I am interested in the stars and all of the

Knowledge they have to offer.

I am available to meet you at O'Malley's cornfield

On Friday at 1900 hours on the far east side in the

Last row of corn.'

When Spock was done, he encoded his message with a different physics equation.

And as Spock went back to working on his computer programming, he could not help but illogically hope that whoever had sent the message would be able to decode it.

\----------

It was Friday. Friday evening.

Spock arrived at O'Malley's cornfield at 1845 and stood at the location he had specified in his message.

He'd waited for 15.8 minutes when he heard rustling behind him. He turned to see a blonde boy emerge from between two tall stalks of corn.

Spock immediately recognized him. It was James Tiberius Kirk.

Kirk froze when he saw Spock. They both stared at each other a moment.

"Oh," Kirk finally said. "It's you."

"Indeed," replied Spock. It was silent for another couple seconds.

Kirk moved over beside Spock and sat down in the dirt between the rows of corn. Unsure of what to do, Spock decided to follow suit.

After a minute or two of sitting, Spock said to Kirk, "I did not know that you had an affinity for physics or for computer programming." His voice lowered a bit. "Or that you had an interest in the stars."

"Yeah," Kirk let out a little snort. "Well, you never asked, did you?"

Spock did not answer.

"I should have known it was you," said Kirk, leaning back on his elbows, "right when I read 'I do not think one can function with only half of a brain'." He sent a small smile to Spock. "Only a Vulcan would have written something like that."

"Indeed," Spock agreed.

Kirk took one finger and drew a symbol in the dirt on the ground. Spock recognized it.

"That is the Starfleet insignia," he said.

Kirk nodded."It's also Cochrane's standard asymmetric energy-curve comparison diagram."

Spock was impressed. He had known that, but he hadn't expected Kirk to know it.

Kirk looked back up at him. "Do you really like thinking about the stars?"

Spock turned his gaze to the dimming sky above him, where stars were already starting to appear. "Yes,' he said quietly. "I come here to look often to look at the sky. And back on Vulcan I would find myself inexplicably drawn to the stars."

"Yeah," Kirk returned just as quietly also gazing at the stars.

"I am returning to Vulcan next week," Spock announced suddenly.

Kirk's gaze snapped back to Spock's and Spock thought he saw disappointment in his eyes.

"Right," said Kirk.

Spock pointed up at the sky. "That," he said pointing in the direction of a small reddish dot just barely visible in Earth's evening sky, "is where Vulcan is."

Kirk hummed in acknowledgement. "One day, I'm gonna go up there. With the stars. I'm gonna have a spaceship." He grinned at Spock. "You can come with me."

Spock almost smiled back. "That sounds most agreeable."

"Cool."

They sat for awhile after that, just saying nothing and staring at the stars.

Yes, reflected Spock gazing at the dark blue sky above, Earth was different from Vulcan in many ways, but they weren't all necessarily bad.

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, I hope this little story was enjoyable. It was just a random thing I decided to write at one point.
> 
> By the way, I'm always open to story ideas, suggestions, or requests.


End file.
